Your guide to all things prospect, courtesy of Jonathan Mayo

Top 50 Update No. 6

There should be new updates to the Top 50 coming soon, with new graduations meaning new players being added. Since last week, Dellin Betances has been added, so be sure to keep checking in on Prospect Watch for updates.

There were some outstanding performances this past week. I guess that’s why they’re considered top prospects… Let’s take a look, starting with hitters.

I do believe it’s officially time to start a Free the Prospect campaign here. Alonso, the Reds’ top pick in 2008 (No. 7 overall) is just going off. Last week, he hit .433 (13-for-30) with a homer and 7 RBIs. In May, Alonso has hit .404 with a .475 OBP and .692 SLG. He’s got a 10-game hitting streak going and you can see his season stats below. Really a first baseman, he’s not going to see any time there in Cincy, so he’s been playing left field. Sure, Jonny Gomes has struggled, but there’s also Chris Heisey up there, so there doesn’t appear to be an opening for Alonso. For now, at least, he’ll have to just keep on raking in Triple-A.

It looks like the Rays’ talented lefty is back on track. For the week, the strikeout artist threw 11 1/3 innings, gave up just five hits and one run while walking five and striking out 15. The Minor League leader in strikeouts the last two years running is now on the leaderboard, with his 56 K’s tying him for fourth (As an aside, Tyler Skaggs, who could have easily been this week’s Pitcher of the Week, is just ahead of Moore in a three-way tie for first with 59 K’s.). For those who might worry about Moore’s command and control, it should be noted that he’s walked just 2.4 per nine innings so far this year, far below his career 4.2 ratio. And at 12.4 K/9 so far in 2011, it has impacted his ability to get swings and misses. Moore, in fact, has lowered his walk rate each season, from 5.1 in 2009 to 3.8 a year ago to his current 2.4. That’s the kind of progress you like to see.

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Well, he’s 29 and is just now playing in his first full season in Triple-A. Yes, he’s putting up some terrific numbers so far, but since the Yankees signed him in Dec. 2008, he hasn’t played more than 86 games in a season. Even when he was playing in Mexico, he never topped 300 at-bats in a season. So it’s probably best not to get too excited.

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